THE buzzword at the Royal Opera House these days is accessibility. High on executive director Tony Hall’s agenda is finding ways of “reaching out and engaging with as many people as possible”. So he must have been pleased on Monday night when he was able to announce from the Covent Garden stage that audiences in Liverpool and Sheffield would be joining us for this Royal Ballet performance.

Thanks to sponsorship from BP, Manon was being beamed live to big screens in Norfolk Heritage Park, Sheffield, and Pierhead, Liverpool, as well as to the Covent Garden piazza, where fans have long enjoyed free outdoor broadcasts of ballets and opera.

Substitute hotfoots it to Royal Ballet to star in injury time By Dalya Alberge for The Times

WHEN the Royal Opera House curtain rose for a second time, the only sign that something was amiss were the flecks of white paint on the ballet dancer’s hands. Less than an hour earlier, Jaimie Tapper had been enjoying a quiet night painting her bathroom when the phone rang. The Royal Ballet needed her to save their Saturday night and turn in a star performance before 2,270 people gathered at Covent Garden for Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon.

The principal dancer, the acclaimed Romanian Alina Cojocaru, had tripped on stage and injured herself at the end of Act I of the three-act classic. If the show were to go on, Covent Garden needed an instant replacement. Fortunately, Ms Tapper was home when frantic staff telephoned.

re: the video mentioned above Dowell/Penney/Wall Yes, it is definitely worth watching, Penney gives a delightful performance, full of caprice, and Dowell is excellent. I have seen Manon several times and have never seen a Lescaut to match David Wall. Monica Mason dances Lescaut's Mistress. If you have never yet seen Manon 'live' I would recommend this video as essential viewing.

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